peatt



(No Model.)

H. 0. PRATT.

WARNING STRIP FOR BARBED-PENGES. No. 848,929. Patented Sept. 7, 1886.

WITNESSES INVENTOR N. PETERS Phclo-ulhagrapbsn Washlnkfnn. D.C

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY C. PRATT, OF OANANDAIGUA, NEYV YORK.

WARNING-STRIP FOR BARBED FE NCES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 348,929, dated September 7, 1886.

Application filed January 16, 1886. Serial No. 188,762. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY C. PRATT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Canandaigua, in the county of Ontario and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Varning-Strips for Barbed Fences; and I do declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appcrtains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a front elevation of a fence with my sight'strips. Fig. 2 is a detail view.

This invention has relation to sight-strips for barbed-wire fences; and it consists in the construction and novel arrangement of devices, all as hereinafter set forth, and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, lhe letter A designates a strip of wood,nsually about twelve feet long, which is designed to be suspended from the upper barbed wire of the fence to warn cattle of their near proximity, in order to prevent them from being injured by the barbs of the fence. This guard-strip should be painted with some bright color, red being preferred.

B are the suspensionhooks, which are made of spring metal and are secured to the strips A by means of bolts 0. The bolt passes through a perforation, (l, in the hook and through the strip, being secured on the inside thereof by means of the nut E, which is turned up tightly and holds the hook firmly. The bend of the hook and the pressure of the nut are sufficient to prevent the book from turning, so that it stands out well above the strip, curving over the same with sufficient space to avoid obstruct-ion by the back of the wire to which the strip is to be attached. The boltO is made over an inch in length and projects considerably beyond the nut E, its projecting portion (indicated at 9) being designed to afford a bearing for the free end of the spring-hook, which is held up against the end of the bolt by its inherent elasticity. This projecting portion of the bolt also serves to hold the end of the hook off from the strip, and in this way facilitates its application to the barbed wire, as the strip is sufficiently distant from the hook end not to be engaged by the barbs when the hook is applied to the wire. The free end h of the hook projects downward beyond the end of the bolt a halfinch or so, in order to afford purchase in the application of the hook to the wire, Usually two hooks are employed with a strip of the length hereinbefore mentioned, each hook being attached to said strip half-Way between the middle and end thereof, this arrangement having been found best to prevent sagging, warping, p

In applying the strip to the fence-wire the strip is held with the hooks upward and toward the wire. The projecting free ends of the hooks are caught on the wire, and then the strip is moved back a little from said wire and downward, opening the hooks and allowiug them to pass over the wire. Then the strip is allowed to fall in suspended position, the hooks closing against the ends of the bolts. The hooks of the strip do not require to be separately manipulated in attaching them to the wire, and the operation is therefore an easy and rapid one, and not liable to injure the fingers of the person who is making the attachment.

Having described this invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 15

1. A suspension sight-strip for barbed-wire fences having sell closi ng hooks secured there to, and projections, as g, serving as bearings to hold the free ends of the hooks off from the strip, substantially as specified.

2. A suspension sightstrip for barbed-wire fences having self-closing hooks, the free ends of which project below the projecting bearings g, which hold them off from the strip, substantially as specified.

3. The combination, with the sightstrip, of an elastic hook and a securing-bolt projecting through said strip and from the same sufficiently to form a bearing to hold the free end of the hook off from said strip, substan tially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY G. PRATT.

Vitnesses:

MIcHAEL D. DUGAN, FRED. W. BRYAN. 

